Deposited-metal pattern and method of making it



Jan. 26 1926,

A. K. QAUKEL DEPOSITED METAL PATTERN AND METHOD OF MAKING IT Filed y 1922 ZSheets-SMM 1 M,Mwamze Jan. 26,1926. 1,570,634

A. K.VLAUKEL DBPOSITED META-L PATTERN AND us'mon OF MAKING I1.

I Filed May 4 1922 2Sheots-Sheot 2 Patented Jan. 26, 1926.,

UNITED STATES 1,570,634 PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR K. LAUREL, OF DETROIT, IIIICHIGAN.

nnrosrrnn-iunran PATTERIT AND METHOD or MAKING I'r.

Application fllcd May 24, 1922'. Serial No. 563,188.

To all 'wkom'it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR K. LAUKEL, a citizen of the UnitcdStates, a resident of Detroit, inthe county of lVayno and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Deposited-Metal Patterns and 'Methods of Making Them, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to deposited metal patterns and a method of making them, and it relates more particularly to patterns for use as split patterns, and cope and drag patterns.

It has been the practice to make patterns by first making a wood pattern in the usual manner and then making a number of separate castings which were then machined or otherwise cut down to the proper dimensions for the subsequent molding operations. \Vhere such separate metal castings wereto be mounted on a plate by attaching them thereto, two shrinkages had to be allowed for, and when an integral cast gang pattern was to be made from previously cast patterns and a gang plate, three shrinkages were involved, the first being due to the individual metal patterns, the second to the castings of these in plate form, and the third to the casting of the final articles of manufacture. This work of course involved considerable skill and hand labor, and was particularly objectionable because of the work required to make each individual pattern to the correct size. I

The resent invention seeks to obviate these difficulties, and has as an object the manufacture of patterns by electrolytic deposition to provide any number of patterns, each pattern being of the right size or an exact duplicate of the first or original pattern, and bein obtained without machining or expensive andling, 'while calculations for shrinkage are provided for through the use of a shrink rule. A further object of the invention is to save the labor and expense necessarily attendant upon such a procedure. A still further object of the invention is to make core boxes and core driers in a convenient manner and in an exact form without the necessity of resortin to machining or scraping or filing by han any of the interior recesses which are ordinarily diflicult, if not impossible, to machine. A still i'urther object of the invention is to employ electrolytic deposition for the casting of patterns formed of various metals. Fur-v ther objects will appear hereinafter.

In carrying out the invention, various specific procedures may be adopted, and the following description will be concerned with a preferred embodiment of the invention. The accompanying drawings which form part of the specification illustrate this embodiment, and in said drawings,

.Figure 1 represents a mold with an insulating plate positioned thereupon;

Fig. 2 represents a plan View of the same;

Fig. 3 represents a mold with the insulating plate in a similar position and pieces of cardboard positioned in the recesses;

Fig. 4 represents an electrolytic bath containing a metal anode and a mold as a cathode;

Fig. 5 represents a plan view of gang mold, and

Fig. 6 represents a side view thereof.

- In carrying out the invention, a'wood pattern is first made in the regular way and then a suitable number of impressions, for example 20, are made of plaster of Paris. These impressions are preferably made all at the same time in the plaster of Paris, which is then impregnated with a suitable agent to make it impervious to the electrolytic bath, such agents comprising stearic acid, linseed oil, paratiin WaX,,Gt-. The plaster of Paris is then treated witha conducting substance such as graphite, bronze, copper or other metal powderfand an electric contact wire is then in-ser'ited at the end of the plaster of Paris block. The latter is then inserted as a cathodeiin asuitable electrolytic bath, and an anode consisting of a metal sheet is provideditogether with suitable electric connections. I

In case it is desired to form the patterns of copper, the anode will be of metallic cop per and the electrolyte will comprise an acid sulphate of copper solution. In a similar manner an ron, a nickel or other metal plate may be inserted as an anode, and a corresponding electrolyte would likewise be chosen. Any suitable electrolyte may be employed.

The operation may be terminated in from 25 to 30 hours or less, and the resulting thick shell of metal may then be touched up with solder to fill in weak points, if any although this step will usually be unnecessary. The metal patterns may be removed from the inorder' to'melt the stearic acid or other similar material.

. During the electrolyzing of the solution,

the points nearest to the anode will often receive a heavier deposit and thus become v irregular in thickness if no means are adopt- "ed for preventing it. I have provided suit- I abledevices whereby a uniform and exact deposition may be achieved, and such means are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. A. plaster of Paris block 1, containing a number of impressions 2 made by the original wooden model or pattern, is provided with a covering insulating plate or sheet 3 which is cut out to resemble the shape of the impression in the plaster of Paris, as more clearly shown-in Fig. 2, where the numeral denotes the dotted outline of the impression. The extending edge 4 of the plate 3 somewhat overhangs the impression or cavity, and as a result of this arrangement the metal will not deposit at the upper edges of the impression but will distribute itself uniformly over the surface thereof to provide a uniform and smooth article. Where the plaster of Paris con tains deep recesses, it is advisable to insert suitable means to prevent the deposition of the metal along the edges and points nearest the anode, and I have therefore provided cardboard sheets 5 inserted as shown in order to direct the deposition of the metal to the more remote portions of the recesses and thereby to produce an even metallic coating resulting in metallic walls of substantially equal thickness. I

Fig. 4 illustrates the arrangement of the cathode with respect to the anode, the cathode consisting of the plaster of Paris mold with its impressions treated'with some conducting material and connected to an electric circuit by a wire 6, while the anode 7, 'con sistin of a metal anode is similarly connecte by wire 8 to the electric circuit. The electrolytic vessel or cell is denoted by 9 and the electrolyte by the numeral 10.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate the completed gang pattern, the numeral 11 denoting the gang plate and numerals 12, 13 and 14: a number of patterns screwed or soldered thereto. The number of these patterns may of course vary as desired. Between these patterns, as for example patterns 12 and 13, channels or gates are provided designated by the numeral 15 in order to conduct the liquid metal from one cavity to the other during the casting operation when the final castings are made. It is to be understood of course that this gang pattern is to be used for making a very large number of similar castings which will be an exact duplicate of the original pattern.

The insulating material employed for the purpose above described may be shellacked cardboard, but other similarly functioning materials may be used. Af't'erthe electrolytic process has been completed, the metal patternsmay be smoothed ofi, if any irreguarities exist, with a face plate wheel or with emery cloth or sand paper, but no considerable work will be required for such an operation. The blocks in which the molds are made may be of plaster of Paris, wax, or rubber, or other material which will function as well. After the patterns are finished, they may be screwed onto a metal plate as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, or they may be soldered thereto or otherwise suitably secured, and they are then ready for use.

As a result of these operations, metal patterns are produced in a speedy and convenient manner, and they will have the exact form desired without the nccessity'of machining or cutting them down by hand work to the proper size. It will be evident that no calculation for shrinkage (shrinkage being taken up through the use of a shrink rule) will be necessary except for the final casting operation when the pattern is used in the foundry, and consequently there has been avoided by this invention one of the calculations for shrinkages which always had to be made in theold method. The.

electrolytic deposition takes place in a regu-- lar manner and forms an article of the exact shape desired, there being no calculation for shrinkage involved in this procedure. TVhere it is desired to make castings like the gang pattern referred to, there will of course be two shrinkages involved, but in the oldmethod such a case would have entailed three shrinkages. The present invention therefore reduces the number of necessary calculations for shrinkage by one over the methods of the prior art.

The making of core boxes and core drier-s.

metal the mold may be turned from time to time in order to obtain an even deposition, and by this means the insertion of cardboard or other insulators will not be necessary. Where the shape of the core drier is such as to make it likely that some of the sand will be broken off or pulled away, it is advisable to make the outer sides a little wider in order to prevent such an action. The advantages of making core driers by such a method consists in the regularity and exactness of the pattern, for no further machining or cutting out is necessary. The machining of interior or inaccessible parts is often impossible, and the advantages of the above procedure which result in the exact form desired will therefore be apparent.

distortion of the metal whenever it is backed up with molten. metal, A deposited copper pattern will notcbirode like cast iron or aluminum. I e

As many apparently widely different embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, it

is to be understood that I do not' intend to limit myself to the specific embodiment thereof except as indicated in the appended claims. r Y

"-I claim; I i

1. A method-zof. making metal patterns comprising forming an impression in a mold from a pattern, coating the surface witha conducting substance,- and depositing metal thereon electrolytically to form a shell of considerable thickness;

2. A method of making metal patterns comprising the following steps: first, making an impression in a mold from a pattern; second, coating the surface with a conducting substance; and third, depositing heavy metal considerable thickness. L .t

3. A method. of making metal patterns comprising forming an impression in a mold thereon electrolytically to form a shell of from a pattern, coating'the surface with a conducting substance, providing insulating means adjacent portions of the surface likely to receive a metal deposit, and electrodepositing a thick shell of metal on thelsurface.

comprising forming an impression in a mold from a pattern, covering the mold with an v insulating plate having a cut out portion similar to' the impression but overlapping its edges, coating the surface of the impres ,sion with a conducting substance, and electro-depositing a thick shell of metal thereon. 5. A method of making metal patterns comprising forming an impression in a mold fron'i a pattern, said impression having deep recesses, coating the surface with a conducting substance, mounting insulating means adjacent the side walls. of the outer portion of the recesses, and electro-depositing a thick shell of metal upon the surface.

6. A method of makinghmetal 'patterns comprising forming an impression in a mold from a pattern, covering the latter with an insulating plate having a cut out portion similar in shape to the impression but over- "hanging its edges, coating the surface of the impression with the conducting substance, mounting insulating means adjacent portions of .the surface likely to receive a heavy deposit of metal, and then electrodepositing a thick shell of metal upon the surface,

7 A metal pattern consisting of astrong relatively thick deposited metal shell capable ofbeing used, without reinforcement.

-8. A metal pattern consisting of a strong relatively thick deposited metal shell capable of being used without reinforcement, the molding surfaces of the pattern being in finished and exact form Without having been machined, filed or scraped.

'9. A metal pattern consisting of a tough, hard relatively'thick de osited metal shell capable of being used wit out reinforcement,

,thetmolding surfaces being in finished and exact form.

,10. A metal pattern consisting of a rela- I have hereunto set my hand this 13 day 4:. A method of making metal patterns of May, 1922.

ARTHUR KQLAUKEL, 

